VAT registration serviceWe can assist you with the registration of your company for VAT purposes. The process will require you to fill out a questionnaire, after which we will send you the filled out registration for signature and forwarding to SARS in the pre-addressed env...

Small Business Performance Management: Management Through Measurement

Small Business Performance Management: In 1996, in the movie Jerry McGuire, actor Cuba Gooding, Jr.made famous the phrase "Show Me the Money!" Ten years later, avariation of that command, now "Show Me the Data!" rings inconference rooms throughout the country. Managers far and wide,at least the successful ones, are looking at the data. Don'ttell me your opinion, show me the data. Can you back it up withdata? Â If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Companies may beable to survive for a while if managers aren't using data tomake decisions, but they will eventually see their demise;likely sooner than later. Those companies to benchmark off arethe ones who are not only surviving, but thriving! Pick yourfavorite phrase: TQM, Process Management, Quality Circles,Improvement Teams, Standards and Measurement departments or anyother title you prefer. The function is the same. Look atbaseline data - percentages, dollars, hours, quantities - andcontinuously monitor the performance. Â There should not be any task that a supervisor or staff membersperform that cannot be measured. If you can't measure it, youcan't manage it. Take a fast food restaurant for example. Thereare a plethora of areas that can be measured such as dayswithout an accident, customer wait time in line, length of timeburgers are in the warmer, amount of money off in the drawers,customer complaints, etc. Graph it out and keep a spread sheetof your figures. Clearly you're looking for improvement. Ifthere was a decline, brainstorm, find the root cause and thenfix the problem. Â The process is the same no matter what industry you'remanaging. Whether you manufacture widgets, if you are the CEOof an internet marketing firm or if you sell cookies, take alook at all the steps involved in day to day operations. Assignvalues to the process. Set goals. Review the results on a daily,weekly or monthly basis. Remember, if you can't measure it, youcan't mange it. Charts and graphs are an excellent tool tovisually remind you of where you have been and where you planto go. Â In the midst of measuring your subordinates' performance, don'tneglect to measure and manage your own operations. Don't thinkfor a minute that your boss isn't looking at your performance.And if you're the top dog, you had better be managing yourselfwell, or you will never succeed at managing others.

About The Author: Mr. Boettger's consulting firm helps businessmarket effectively without spending more money on advertisingthrough a growth performance guaranteed system. An extensiveDIY small business action plan is available free on theirwebsite at http://www.7StepConsulting.com